Medical marijuana businesses without a state license will be shut down on Thursday

People in Michigan who use medical marijuana may have a difficult time getting their medicine after Thursday.

Monday was the last day for medical marijuana businesses to potentially receive a state license. That’s because the state board in charge of granting licenses held its final meeting before an October 31st deadline. Businesses that didn’t receive the state’s blessing will be shut down on Thursday.

Linda Smith’s Haslett business helps people get medical marijuana cards. She’s says the threat of shutdowns has her patients worried about getting their medicine.

“There is a tremendous amount of anxiety on the part of the patients because they rely on the provisioning centers,” she says.

State officials say there are close to 300,000 medical marijuana patients in Michigan.

So far, the state has granted 37 provisioning center licenses from close to 200 applications.

Andrew Brisbo is the director of the Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation. He says he’s confident patients will get what they need.

“I feel comfortable with the licenses we’ve approved at this point that there is a fully functioning market in the state,” he says.

People who didn’t receive a state license on Monday have an opportunity to be approved at the next medical marijuana licensing board meeting on November 8.

In November, Michigan voters will decide whether to allow recreational marijuana use. Many businesses, in and outside of Michigan, are closely watching what happens, as well as making plans for if voters say 'yes'.

Michigan’s entrepreneurs are seeing dollar signs with the state’s vote in November to legalize recreational marijuana.